Exit Interviews- Beneficial For The Company Or An Individual?

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Exit interviews can be fruitful for both the employer and the employee, if they are conducted effectively. The possibility of incorrect feedback by the employee who is leaving the company is very low, as his reference checks are already done and he is in a position to share a true feedback. Now it depends on the employer, how they take his/her feedback.

Whereas for many companies exit interviews are merely a formality, some companies do not even conduct such interviews. These employers feels that the person who is leaving ,would not give any positive feedback as he is leaving , and so there is no point in keeping a record of such discussions. The fact is that these interviews are more helpful to the organization than the employee.

Consider a real world example

Mark had served the organization for six years and decided to move on. He had spent a long tenure and had both good and bad memories. It was his last day and his line HR (Human Resource) had scheduled his exit interview. Mark was an outstanding employee and was promoted twice in his tenure. It was a real tough decision for him and the reason was his profile was completely changed by his new boss. He could hardly use his skills in his new profile and started facing major issues and challenges. He tried his best to adjust on this new role, but the profile was so different he decided to quit. It took more than 6 months for him to get a new job without any hike in salary or designation. But Mark accepted the new offer. To his surprise his reporting manager did not do much effort to stop him. He thought it to be a good opportunity to share his pain in the exit interview. Therefore he started with the good part he liked or still like about the company. He mentioned the names of some of his seniors who were the key differentiators in past. Then very politely he put his point, and the actual reason for his resignation. The HR person Anna was listening very seriously and documenting each and every word. And he felt relaxed after this interaction.

Does he did the right thing?  – Yes Mark had nothing to lose but by sharing his views honestly he not only helped his colleagues but also the company as knowing the reason or reasons why the employees leave assist the company in identifying its weaknesses. The value of any individual’s feedback depends on his/her profile and tenure with the company.

Every company has issues that affects employee’s productivity, their involvement and company’s revenue generation negatively. Implementing healthy HR policies and regular surveys can assist your company in identifying areas of potential concern and weakness. The employee gains very little from attending an exit interview, but companies can gain a lot by actually working on the areas of improvement.

Below is the list of benefits of exit interview to the company

  1. Help in retention of employees, thereby reduction in cost associated with high attrition.
  2. Help in knowing the strength and weakness of the company.
  3. Help in knowing the actual cause of the issues faced by the key or critical resources.
  4. Improve company’s relationship with its employees.
  5. Improvement in result of employee satisfaction survey.
  6. Increase employee engagement and alignment

Exit interviews provide a company with a reality check, for some it is a kind of an alarm before the flood. The HR representative is more likely to be unbiased, and maintain procedure without becoming emotionally involved with the employee. Employees can also share their honest feedback comfortably with a neutral party. If the company choose to outsource a consultant to run these interviews, the results are more effective and accurate. An exit interview is of no relevance if nothing is done with the results.

About Aditi Malhotra

Aditi Malhotra is the Content Marketing Manager at Whizlabs. Having a Master in Journalism and Mass Communication, she helps businesses stop playing around with Content Marketing and start seeing tangible ROI. A writer by day and a reader by night, she is a fine blend of both reality and fantasy. Apart from her professional commitments, she is also endearing to publish a book authored by her very soon.

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